OECD urges efforts to better price carbon as new analysis finds that 90% of CO2-emissions are priced below EUR 30 per tonne, a low-end estimate of climate damage, and 60% are not priced at all. Effective Carbon Rates in the OECD and Selected Partner Economies calculates effective carbon rates (ECR) on CO2-emissions from energy use for 41 countries which together use 80% of global emissions.

The OECD and the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes announced today that Bahrain, Lebanon, Nauru, Panama and Vanuatu have now committed to share financial account information automatically with other countries.

Representatives of more than 80 countries and jurisdictions have gathered in Kyoto, Japan to push forward ongoing efforts to update international tax rules for the 21st century, the latest step in the OECD/G20 Project to tackle Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS).

Technology Tools to Tackle Tax Evasion and Tax Fraud demonstrates how technology is currently being used by tax administrations in countries worldwide to prevent, identify and tackle tax evasion and tax fraud. These solutions can offer a win-win: better detection of crime, higher revenue recovery, and synergies that can make tax compliance easier for business and tax administrations.

Viet Nam has become the 100th jurisdiction to join the Inclusive Framework on BEPS ("IF") on an equal footing with all other IF members, as announced by Mr. DANG NGOC Minh (Deputy General Director of the General Department of Taxation - GDT) at the third plenary meeting of the IF held on 21-22 June 2017 in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.

Today at the OECD Headquarters in Paris, Mahess Rawoteea of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development of Mauritius, signed the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (the MLI) in the presence of Douglas Frantz, OECD Deputy Secretary-General.

Today at the OECD Headquarters in Paris, Alamine Ousmane Mey, Minister of Finances of Cameroon, signed the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (the MLI) in the presence of Pascal Saint-Amans, Director of the OECD Centre for Tax for Tax Policy and Administration.

Today at the OECD Headquarters in Paris, Nigeria signed two major multilateral instruments: the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (the MLI) and the CRS Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement‎ (the CRS MCAA). Nigeria becomes the 71st jurisdiction to sign the MLI and the 94th jurisdiction to join the CRS MCAA.

Twenty-eight officials participated in the inaugural “VAT/GST Fraud Investigations” course at the OECD Latin America Academy for Tax and Financial Crime Investigation last week in Buenos Aires.

International cooperation and collective action are critical to tackling the world’s major challenges, OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría said following the G20 Leaders’ Summit held in Buenos Aires amid heightened trade tensions but at which important advances were made on a number of priorities of Argentina’s presidency.

This report “A Beneficial Ownership Implementation Toolkit” – contains policy considerations that Global Forum member jurisdictions can use in implementing the legal and supervisory frameworks to identify and collect beneficial ownership information, which is now a requirement of the international tax transparency standards.

The OECD today published two self-assessment maturity models on tax debt management and the reduction of compliance burdens, both critical areas for successful tax administration. Maturity models set out descriptions of capabilities and performance in a particular function or set of activities across a number of levels of increasing maturity, in the case of these models from an emerging to an aspirational level.

In the light of the worsening global impacts of Covid-19 on individual taxpayers, businesses and the wider economy, the OECD Forum on Tax Administration (FTA) has today published a global reference document setting out actions that FTA tax administrations are currently taking to support taxpayers.

The OECD Forum on Tax Administration (FTA), in collaboration with the Intra-European Organisation of Tax Administrations (IOTA) and the Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations (CIAT), has today published a reference document on critical business continuity considerations for tax administrations in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Portugal’s enforcement of its foreign bribery laws has been extremely low. Not a single prosecution has resulted from 15 allegations of Portuguese companies bribing foreign officials in high-risk countries.

Held in Amsterdam on 7 April 2014, this workshop focused on: long-term pension investment strategies under risk-based regulation; riskiness and pro-cyclicality in pension asset allocation; and, regulatory challenges for long-term illiquid assets.

The risk of Greek companies bribing foreign officials is substantial, but Greece has not given the same priority to fighting foreign bribery as it has to domestic corruption.

Further structural reforms are needed to help the business sector boost productivity growth and overcome the key challenges of sluggish investment in advanced economies and excess capacity in emerging economies, according to a new OECD report.

Abidjan, 27-28 October 2016 - This event focused on transparency and accountability, in particular tackling illicit financial flows and combating corruption. The event provided an occasion to launch the OECD-AfDB Anti-Bribery Policy and Compliance Guidance for African Companies.

Belgian companies, mutualities and employment services should be more proactive in helping people with mental health problems stay in the workplace or find a job, according to a new OECD report.

Australians continue to enjoy one of the highest levels of health across the developed world but need to address Australia’s growing obesity problem, according to a new OECD report.

Mexico needs serious investment in prevention programmes to address its massive, and still rising, obesity rate, according to a new OECD report.

Mental health issues cost the UK around GBP 70 billion every year, or roughly 4.5% of GDP, in lost productivity at work, benefit payments and health care expenditure.

Most people in OECD countries are overweight or obese. The social and economic consequences of this epidemic are dramatic, exposing an increasing number of people to chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

Health care use varies widely across countries but can also vary as much or more within countries. Governments should do more to improve their health systems to prevent unnecessary interventions and ensure that everyone has the same access to quality healthcare, wherever they live, according to a new OECD report.

Health and employment services should intervene earlier, involve key stakeholders and ensure they work together in order to help people with mental-health issues find work and stay in a job, according to a new OECD report.

Harmful drinking is on the rise among young people and women in many OECD countries, partly due to alcohol becoming more available, more affordable and more effectively advertised, according to a new OECD report.

Rising levels of obesity and diabetes around the world could halt a trend of decreasing mortality rates for cardiovascular diseases, such as strokes and heart attacks, and even cause rates to start rising again, particularly among younger people, according to a new OECD report.

“Mental health issues exact a high price on individuals, their families, employers and the economy,” said OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría, “Policymakers have been too slow to act. Strong political leadership is needed to drive reform and tackle this issue.”

At the OECD, we have calculated that about 50% of all the antimicrobials prescribed by healthcare facilities in our member countries do not meet prescription guidelines. In healthcare services such as long-term care facilities and general practices up to 70% and 90% respectively of antibiotics may be prescribed for inappropriate reasons.

The proliferation of high-cost medicines and rising drug prices are increasing pressures on public health spending and calling into question the pharmaceutical industry’s pricing strategies.

Australians continue to enjoy one of the highest levels of health across the developed world but need to address Australia’s growing obesity problem, according to a new OECD report.

Levels of alcohol consumption in Australia are close to the OECD average. After a decrease from 1980 to 1992, consumption has rebounded to some extent. In 2011, 10 litres of pure alcohol per capita were consumed in Australia, on average, compared with an estimate of 9.5 litres in 2011 in the OECD.

Levels of alcohol consumption in Japan are slightly below the OECD average and have slightly decreased in the last 20 years. In 2012, an average of 7.2 litres of pure alcohol per capita was consumed in Japan, compared with an estimate of 9.1 litres in the OECD.

Held in Amsterdam on 7 April 2014, this workshop focused on: long-term pension investment strategies under risk-based regulation; riskiness and pro-cyclicality in pension asset allocation; and, regulatory challenges for long-term illiquid assets.

Further structural reforms are needed to help the business sector boost productivity growth and overcome the key challenges of sluggish investment in advanced economies and excess capacity in emerging economies, according to a new OECD report.

Belgian companies, mutualities and employment services should be more proactive in helping people with mental health problems stay in the workplace or find a job, according to a new OECD report.

Britain must continue to pursue pro-growth, as well as inequality-reducing structural reforms in order to recover from the nation’s deepest recession in nearly a century, according to a new OECD report.

Significant labour market mismatches and insufficient mobility penalise employment and productivity. Mismatches have above all a skills dimension, with an excess of low-skilled workers and a possible lack of skilled workers in certain domains.

Boosting economic growth and investment to create jobs, improve the stability of public finances and provide an effective social safety net are crucial to help Greece recover from the profound social costs of the economic crisis, says the OECD in its latest report.

Declining productivity growth and rising inequality are two of the biggest obstacles to improved economic performance, according to a new OECD report.

The nexus of slowing productivity growth and rising inequality is capturing the attention of policymakers and researchers. The productivity slowdown, its causes, and the link with inclusiveness will be discussed on 7-8 July in Lisbon at the first Annual Conference of the new Global Forum on Productivity, which was created by the OECD in collaboration with a number of Member and non-Member countries.

Costa Rica’s economic, social and environmental achievements are impressive. It has succeeded in combining rising living standards, virtually universal health care, pension and primary education systems with sustainable use of natural resources.

This paper explores the connection between “zombie” firms (firms that would typically exit in a competitive market) and bank health and the consequences for aggregate productivity in 11 European countries.

Greece’s recovery from deep economic depression is finally gaining traction, according to the OECD. Economic growth has started to pick up led by a rise in exports while labour market reforms have improved competitiveness and are helping to create jobs.

Global trade imbalances narrowed in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. They have remained at a lower level but are still of concern to policy makers because of the risks they pose to individual economies, as well as globally.

Effective macroeconomic and structural policies helped Turkey bounce back quickly and strongly from the global crisis, with annual growth averaging close to 9% over 2010-11

The economic crisis has hit certain regions and cities harder than others in the OECD area, calling for better regional policies across levels of governments to foster an inclusive and sustainable recovery, according to two new OECD reports.

Rapid population growth, ageing infrastructure and new weather risks are straining the ability of cities in OECD countries to provide clean water and to protect against floods and droughts, according to a new OECD report. Cities will need large-scale investment and more effective tariffs and taxes to pay for upgrades to water systems.

Recent reforms have made pension systems more financially sustainable and pensioners have higher living standards than ever before. But future generations are likely to find their pension entitlements much less generous than today’s and many may face a serious risk of pensioner poverty, according to a new OECD report.